AN INQUIRY into the handling of the coronavirus pandemic has been labelled a “koala court” by Member for Mallee Anne Webster, who says it’s “too cuddly towards Labor state Premiers”.
“Usually, questionable inquiries are kangaroo courts, but in this case the Prime Minister has gone out of his way to avoid scrutiny of state and territory actions during the pandemic – it’s more of a cuddly koala court,” Dr Webster said.
“Worse still, the PM seems to think it will turn into a drop bear on the former Coalition government, but I think Australians have seen through this shambles from the get-go.
“It would be funny if it wasn’t so serious.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the independent inquiry last week “to help better prepare and protect our country for the future”.
“Given the loss of life, dislocation, stress and expenditure resulting from the pandemic, we said it would be in the national interest to hold an inquiry into the response,” Mr Albanese said.
He said the inquiry would review what worked well and what could be done better to improve Australia’s preparedness for future pandemics.
The inquiry will consider Commonwealth responses to the pandemic.
This includes the provision of vaccinations, treatments and key medical supplies to Australians, mental health support for those affected by COVID-19 and lockdowns, financial support for individuals and business, and assistance for Australians abroad.
The inquiry will consider the role of the Australian Government in responding to future pandemics, including the co-ordination of the federal Cabinet.
Dr Webster said she wrote to Mr Albanese asking him to remember how people suffered from lockdowns and border closures, not to mention the job losses due to mandatory vaccination policies.
“New Zealand is having a Royal Commission and I think the majority of Australians always expected that once the COVID-19 curve had been flattened, there would be a comprehensive inquiry into the handling of the pandemic,” she said.
“This koala court is appalling, lacks the transparency Australians expect and is offensive to the grief and trauma that arose from, in some cases, unfounded knee-jerk government decisions.”
Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said the PM was putting political interests ahead of Australia’s interests and shielding Labor Premiers from proper scrutiny.
“This is Anthony Albanese’s COVID cop out,” she told Seven’s Sunrise program.
“I live on the border between New South Wales and Victoria and for everyone today, who absolutely knows this inquiry needs to go ahead, I want them to know that we’re in your corner.
“For people who were smashed by those lockdowns, 32 closures across the Murray River, the actions of the Premier of Victoria make people in my community angry now.
“This is the Prime Minister looking after his Labor mates at state government level.
“How can you possibly have an inquiry that doesn’t look at the totality of what this did in a way that actually allows us to learn how to do better next time?”
Mr Albanese defended the decision not to include lockdowns in the inquiry, saying it was an issue for states and territories to examine.
“You would need effectively nine different inquiries because each state did some things that were very different and we want to learn about what worked, what didn’t work and to project about the future,” he told ABC Radio.
“What (the federal inquiry) won’t do is look at decisions that are solely the decision of state governments.
“State governments, of course, can have inquiries and can examine their own actions as well.”
The inquiry will run for 12 months, with a final report to be delivered by September 30 2024.
Key stakeholders and members of the community will be invited to share their views as part of a public consultation.
